Welcome to LightOnLightThrough, Episode 79, in which you will hear the complete 65-minute interview Patrick Rands did with me about my music, in June 2006. I drove up to WZBC Radio studios outside of Boston on a beautiful early summer afternoon for the interview by Partick Rands on his "Test Patterns" radio show on WZBC (Boston College) Radio. With my 1972 LP, Twice Upon a Rhyme, re-issued in mini-CD by Big Pink/Beatball Records in December 2008, and to be re-issued in a vinyl re-pressing by Whiplash/Sound of Salvation Records in November 2010, I thought this interview, in which Patrick played 14 of my songs (many rarely heard before) to be especially significant. A complete playlist and links to the music on the Web follow below ...

I had first come to know Patrick after his review of Rhino Handmade's Come to the Sunshine compilation CD in 2005 - the CD has my group The Other Voices (aka The New Outlook) singing "Hung Up On Love," a song I wrote with Mikie Harris, produced by Ellie Greenwich & Mike Rashkow, and released on Atlantic Records in 1968.

Patrick played "Hung Up On Love" and a dozen other recordings that I wrote, sang, produced (or all three) on our show in 2006. As a special coda, I performed my new song, "Lime Streets," for the very first time at the end of the show. I had written it just a month before the interview. Patrick was good enough to lend me his daughter's cool little keyboard for my rendition - it was my only instrumentation, so I was practically unplugged.

A complete list of the songs played on the show follows. Patrick has a nice 'n' easy interview style, and I really had a good time.

Among the secrets revealed for the first time on the show: how Ed Fox and I wrote "The Lama Will Be Late This Year" (and who, exactly, was 'Hawaiian Herb'?) . . . .the real reason that jazz-man Boris Midney left the Soviet Union . . . what song got in the way of The Vogues releasing their recording of my song, "Unbelieavable (Inconceivable You)", on Reprise Records? . . . . and how old was Linda Kaplan when she wrote "Skyscraper" with me in the late 1960s? ( well, a lot younger than when she later wrote the famous "Toys 'R Jingle" . . . . "I don't wanna grow up . . . .")

And the playlight is as follows:

1. No Olympian Height(s) - recorded by The Other Voices (The New Outlook), Paul Levinson, Stu Nitekman, Ira Margolis (Stu singing lead), song written by Brute Force, produced by Ellie Greenwich & Mike Rashkow, 2nd single released on Atlantic, 1968

2. Hung Up On Love - recorded by The Other Voices (The New Outlook) - Paul Levinson, Stu Nitekman, Ira Margolis (but Mike Rashkow singing lead) - song written by Paul Levinson & Mikie Harris, produced by Ellie Greenwich & Mike Rashkow, B-side of both May My Heart Be Cast Into Stone, and No Olympian Heights, singles released on Atlantic, 1968 (included on Rhino's Come to the Sunshine CD, 2004)

3. Picture Postcard World - recorded by The Definitive Rock Chorale - studio group with Ellie Greenwich, Toni Wine, Ron Dante, etc - song written by Paul Levinson, produced by Ellie Greenwich & Mike Rashkow, released on Decca, 1968

4. Unbelievable (Inconceivable You) - recorded by The Vogues - song written by Paul Levinson, produced by Dick Glasser for Reprise, 1968, but never released

5. Sunshine Mind - recorded by Donna Marie (who sang in the Archies) - song written by Paul Levinson, produced by Jimmy "Wiz" Wisner, released on Columbia, 1968

11. Not Yet Ready to Say Goodbye - recorded by Paul Levinson, with Ed Fox and Peter Rosenthal (Paul singing lead) - written by Paul Levinson & Linda Kaplan, produced by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox, released on Twice Upon A Rhyme LP, HappySad Records, 1972 (musicians on this album also include Don Frankel, Jay Sackett, Alan Fuhr, Boris Midney)

12. The Lama Will Be Late This Year - recorded by Paul Levinson, with Ed Fox and Peter Rosenthal (Ed singing lead) - written by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox, produced by Paul Levinson & Ed Fox, released on Twice Upon A Rhyme LP, HappySad Records, 1972 (musicians on this album also include Don Frankel, Jay Sackett, Alan Fuhr, Boris Midney)

from Idris Elba, who played Stringer Bell on The Wire:11/7/2006 6:22 AM "Paul, I just had to take the time out to drop you a line to say, that it is an absolute honour to have such a scholar like yourself dedicate an entire podcast to me, my music and my role as Stringer Bell. Incredible dissection of what made followers of The Wire gravitate towards my character. My music is about giving that same heart, but with my very own script.... Cheers,
Idris"